Breakdown of Dit is het proces dat we hadden veranderd.
zijn
to be
hebben
to have
dit
this (neuter)
veranderen
to change
we
we (unstressed form of wij)
dat
that/which (relative pronoun)
het proces
the process
Questions & Answers about Dit is het proces dat we hadden veranderd.
Why is dat used instead of die for "that"?
Because proces is a het-word (het proces). When referring back to a het-word, we always use the relative pronoun dat. If it were a de-word, we would use die.
Why do the verbs hadden veranderd go to the very end?
The word dat introduces a relative clause (a type of subclause). In Dutch subclauses, all verbs get pushed to the end of the sentence.
Is it possible to change the verb order to ...dat we veranderd hadden?
Yes! When you have an auxiliary verb (hadden) and a past participle (veranderd) at the end of a subclause, you can put them in either order. Both are perfectly correct.
This lesson is about the present passive voice. Is this sentence passive?
No, this sentence is active because the subject (we) is doing the action ("we had changed"). It simply uses a past participle (veranderd) with hadden to form the past perfect tense.
Learn Dit is het proces dat we hadden veranderd and more in Dutch
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free